Creating a Publication: Process Overview

Before pointing and clicking your way through creating a new publication, it is important to have an idea of what you are creating and how you should create it. This document includes an overview of the steps in creating a publication.

Brainstorm and Prepare

Gathering your ideas and determining the goals of your publication is an important step in the writing process. It acts as a blueprint for what your publication will become. Things you should consider include:

Audience

who is the audience

age of the audience

education level

Purpose

why are you developing a publication

creating awareness

generating publicity

sharing information

why are people interested (general, active, research)

Tone of publication

casual

conversational

bright

chatty

conservative

inviting

formal

Type of articles

Length of articles

Images

Type

Line Art

Photos

Purpose

share information

enhance pages

Quantity

Size

Color

Write the Articles in Word

Using Microsoft Word to write your articles or text is a good idea because Word is a more powerful word processor than Publisher. It is easy to move your text to Publisher when they are complete, but make sure you include the following steps before you do so:

Write a draft

Edit

Spell check

Confirm content

Finalize

Save as Word 2000

Locate/Develop the Images

Images play an important role in any publication. You can incorporate images from a variety of sources:

Microsoft Office clip art

add to document

copy

move to Publisher and paste

Scanning

digitize print image

CD or other Clip art collections

personal collections

Web

locate image

look for copyright

right click, select Save Image As

place into Publisher document

Create your own

Graphic programs

Paint

Photoshop

Drawing abilities

Explore Layout Options

Looking at finished examples helps you determine what layout you like best. You can then use ideas from these layouts to make your publication look the way you want it to.

Look, look, look at ...

newsletters

magazines

newspapers

web pages

Determine what you like and do not like

Take the best qualities and make your own document

Make Layout Decisions

Creating the layout for your Publisher publication includes a variety of components, each of which contributes to the overall look. You have a number of options when deciding on each layout option.

Masthead

located on first page
(placement varies: top, side, bottom)

identifies title of publication

often includes a graphic

Header and footer

images

page number

title of publication

Number of columns

2 or 3 columns generally works well for a newsletter

variations may work on individual pages

Type of images

Graphic placement

Font faces and sizes

use a san-serif font such as Arial for titles and headings

use a serif font such as Times or Century Schoolbook for article text

use consistency to help polish the publication

avoid too many font faces which clutter the document

work with sizes and formatting to create variety instead (e.g. bold, italics)

Headings

size

placement (single column or span over article columns)

Sketch the Layout on Paper

Before you get started with your Publisher publication, it is a good idea to sketch a rough draft on paper first. This will act as a reference when you are creating the layout in Publisher.

Cover page

Inside pages

Back page

Pull Everything Together in Publisher

Use Publisher to bring all the components of your publication together: articles, graphics, and layout.

Build your skills on sample document

Place master items from layout on master pages

Place the articles

Add the graphics

Tweak the layout

Develop Specific Skills

Specific skills you may have to use as you build your publication include: